“Then they brought in the vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them…and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone” (5:3-4, ESV).
Suddenly, the fingers of a human hand appear and begin to write on the wall opposite the king’s throne:
“Then the king’s color changed, and his thought alarmed him; his limbs gave way, and his knees knocked together” (5:6).
The king calls in all the wise men of the kingdom, and not one can interpret the handwriting on the wall. At last, Daniel is brought to him and the king promises to make him a ruler of the nation if he can decode the words on the wall. I love Daniel’s response:
“Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another…I will read the writing to the king…” (5:17).
But before he does, he makes it very clear that the king has acted in severe disunity with God:
“…but the God in whom is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored” (5:23).
The handwriting itself is “MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN,” and sounds like gibberish, except to a man of God. In English phonetics it sounds like, “Many, many tickles of parsley.”
But in God’s language it means: Your kingdom has been ended; repeat – your kingdom has been ended; you have been found deficient in God’s eyes; your kingdom is divided and given to others.
The king’s reaction to this devastating news is not recorded, but oddly, instead of anger he fulfills his promise to make Daniel a ruler!
And moments later:
“That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed” (5:30).
In the Cycle, this is called judgment.
In Chapter 6, Darius becomes king and Daniel distinguishes himself in the service of the king. So well, in fact, that his fellow advisers plot to have him killed. They convince Darius to pass a law for just 30 days forbidding worship of any god or God other than Darius himself.
These enemies are sure Daniel will keep right on worshiping God every day. But he does not miss a day, and he even makes sure that he can be seen and heard by his enemies, who in turn race to Darius and demand that Daniel be thrown into the lion’s den.
King Darius, who truly loves Daniel, realizes how he has been trapped by his advisers, and tries everything he can to save Daniel. But the law of the land is clear: not even the king can revoke his own decree.
Daniel is thrown into the lion’s den, a stone is rolled across the entrance, and it is sealed to verify that there is no way for Daniel to escape. Note the prophetic parallel with Jesus!
All Darius can do now is pray:
“May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you” (6:16)!
The next morning Darius races to the lion’s den and finds Daniel alive and well, to his great joy. Darius then throws all his treacherous advisers and their families into the same den, where the result is almost sickening to read.
Darius declares that which our current world could stand to hear shouted from every mountain:
“…the God of Daniel…is the living God, enduring forever, his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end. He delivers and rescues; he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, he who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions” (6:26-27).
The enemies of God may be partying on with many tickles and parsley, but their handwriting is on the wall.
Don’t miss a single day of prayer and worship, no matter the opposition!